It is pretty easy to get confused if you read the popular fitness and health magazines. There is always a new "latest and greatest" way to get in shape and an exercise program to go along with it that will burn fat, increase energy and finally give you the body you want.

What really is the best and most efficient form of exercise for maximum results?

More weight or less weight?

More reps or fewer reps?

Higher intensity or lower intensity?

More cardio than resistance training?

More resistance training than cardio?

Machines or free weights?

Train every day or once a week

If you end up doing the same fitness routine over and over again because you just don't know what else to do to find the best fitness solution then you are not alone.

Here are some of the most common but correctable mistakes a lot of men and women make in trying to attain their long-term fitness-and-health goals.

Top 10 Common Fitness Training Mistakes

Too much time on the same machines -- A lot of people tend to train using just their preferred machines. Machines have a way of limiting your range of motion and do not work the helper muscles as you would using free weights. Using the small stabilizer muscles will give you maximum benefit throughout your fitness training program.

Not lifting enough weight -- A lot of women do not lift enough weights to engage their muscles for long-term muscle growth. Remember, that if the exercise is too easy and effortless, you may not be getting much benefit from it.

Working only half of your body -- A lot of men focus too much on just their upper body and end up mainly training their chest and arms, thus making their body parts look very unbalanced and disproportionate to each other.

Too many reps -- This relates to using too little weight...A lot of women do too many reps per set, once again not allowing their muscles the opportunity to grow and develop so that they can change their muscle/fat body composition. If you up the weight a little to the point that you can do from 10 to 12 reps per set only, at which point you have to struggle to lift it again, then you are at about the right weight for effective muscle growth.

Overtraining -- The benefits of resistance training, unlike cardiovascular work, come after the training is over. Sometimes people think more is better and in resistance training that is not always the case.

Here are more things not to do in your exercise routine if you want effective fat loss... then after that I''ll tell you what to do

Not eating enough for training -- Both before and after training. Your body is an engine that must be fed with good quality fuel (food) to maximize your fitness results. Starving yourself before or after a fitness training workout limits your capacity to perform at peak levels and can actually cause your body to destroy lean muscle tissue for fuel.

Training using the same routine -- Your body will become accustomed to any fitness training program that is more than 4-6 weeks in duration and will provide you diminishing long-term fitness results.

Cardio before weights -- Wearing yourself down prior to your resistance-training workout with cardio can only reduce your opportunity to get the best possible training session. A short warm up period doing cardio is great, but don't overdo it.

Slow and steady wins the race -- A big mistake is keeping your fitness training pace always in moderate mode. Incorporating high-intensity training in intervals is the best way to keep it fresh and effective.

Cardio, cardio and more cardio -- Burning fat is a great thing, but burning muscle is a bad thing. Cardio is a good fat burner, but also can burn muscle if you over indulge.

Here is your Fatburning Fitness Solution

1. Enough with the machines -- Try dumbbells to engage both sides of your body, and barbells and for a greater challenge perform unilateral exercise movements (alternating from one side to the other when lifting weights).

2. Take it to almost failure -- It's important to engage the muscles completely and make sure that no matter whether you are completing 8 or 12 reps, the last 2-3 should be challenging and you should not be able to complete another 2-3 reps. If you can, then raise your amount of weight to engage those muscles. Make sure to use a spotter if you're lifting heavier weights.

3. Lunges and squats -- Probably the two best lower body exercises that can be performed to engage the largest muscles in your body. Exercising your lower body will keep you symmetrical in shape and also help you burn more fat and change your Body/Fat ratio by developing the largest muscles in your body to become your fat-burning machines while your body is at rest.

Here are more of the things you should be doing in your exercise program to burn fat.

4. Stay in the range -- 8-12 reps is about the perfect rep range for most people trying to improve their general fitness level. Too many reps will leave you with NO good quality results and too little will make it very hard to train without a spotter. Lift heavy for size and strength and keep changing your rep range to keep your body guessing while developing strong fat burning muscles.

5. Take a break -- Rest and recovery are a important element in any successful fitness training program, and I recommend to my clients at least 24-48 hours rest between resistance training sessions. I always recommend at least 48 hours for your larger muscle groups, which would be your lower-body leg workouts. I also recommend taking a week off during your training programs to give your body a break, and in most cases the little extra recovery time will bring you back even stronger. Keep your body fresh and strong, and you will get greater long-term fitness success.

6. Eat to train and train to eat -- Your body is an engine, so feed it like one. You cannot perform well at peak levels without fuel, especially if you are engaged in a high-intensity resistance-training workout. Eat a combination of good quality high-fiber carbohydrates in combination with a lean good quality protein before your training sessions and always refuel again after you workout. You need to feed the muscles you just broke down so they can get stronger again.

7. Keep it fresh and challenging -- Any training program that is maintained for longer than 4-6 weeks will not be as effective in the long run. Always keep your body guessing, challenged and fresh with new and innovative fitness training programs. Your body should never be allowed to develop a rhythm using the same training programs. You will ultimately get diminishing returns on your training sessions. So keep your body guessing for maximum long-term results.

8. Don't limit yourself -- Machines will typically provide only one range of motion and will not help improve any muscle imbalances you may have. When you use dumbbells, you have no choice but to engage both sides of your body when lifting weights. Using free weights will really uncover any weakness you may have on one side of your body, promote a more natural range of motion, support imbalances of your muscle groups, and introduce you to tons of exercises that can be performed with a low-cost and home-friendly training method. Also, challenge all your muscles by using a stability ball. Stability balls provide you incredible flexibility in terms of cost, variety of exercises, and most importantly the engagement of many, many stabilizer muscles that would never be worked utilizing a fitness machine or even a bench.

9. Save it for the weights -- There is nothing more challenging than a high-intensity resistance-training session, and doing your cardio before your weights will not provide you the energy you need to perform at a peak level needed to maximize your weight-training sessions. Complete your weight workout. Then if you want to perform cardio on the same day as your resistance training, do it after the weights. Your body will thank you for it. Build muscle, and then burn the fat!

10. Take to new levels -- Short, high-tntensity fitness training is the way to go. Your body and mind will love you for it. Train with high intensity in short bursts and get maximum fat burn both when performing your resistance training and cardio workouts. That is the only way I train my clients, and it helps them fit their training into their busy schedules so they can stay on track to turn the flab to fab in only 15 minutes a day!

11. You cannot live by cardio alone -- Although cardio is an excellent fat burner, especially if performed as a high-intensity interval-training workout, you need to realize that burning fat is only part of the equation. It is essential that any complete and balanced fitness-training plan includes an effective high-intensity resistance-training program to maintain and increase your muscle mass. By integrating resistance workouts into your traditional cardio routines, you will build muscle and burn fat both during your workouts and while you're at rest. You need to develop your body into a Fat Burning Machine, and changing your body composition is the key to long-term success.

Did you know that many women spend up to 20 years of their lives "dieting"?

You might think after that amount of time that they would know what they were doing when it comes to weight loss. Right?

In many cases, not!

The first clue is that they are still dieting after 20 years and haven't yet found a sustainable, healthy nutrition plan.

Here are a few tips to help you overcome the mistakes that many "dieters" make and to enjoy permanent weight loss.

Attitude is everything. Changing your eating habits and starting an exercise program with weight tloss in mind is great thing but you must have the right attitude or you are beat before you start. Think postively and empower yourself. Enlist a friend to start the journey with you and help to empower each other.

Start a new nutrition plan, not a "diet". Adopt a plan that you can live with for the rest of your life. Don't look at it as a 12 week starvation plan that may lose you some weight for bikini season only to have it come back on immediately after stopping the plan.

Make sure that your nutrition plan includes foods you enjoy...monotonous, low calorie, tastless diet food is not something anyone looks forward to and will spell the doom of your plan.

Do not become a slave to the scales! Weighing yourself everyday can be discouraging for a number of reasons...remember that muscle weighs more than fat and you will be gaining muscle mass with your exercise program and losing fat so the scale may not change as much as you hoped...judge more by the way your clothing fits and hide the scales for a few months.

Here are some more dieting mistakes to avoid in order to successfully lose weight.

Not drinking enough water! Water is the essence of life, not coffee, pop and sugar filled drinks. Fruitopia is neither a fruit nor utopia... it is merely sugar and chemicals (there is bit of water in . You need at least 64 ounces of pure water a day for all of your bodily functions to work properly.

Processed foods are the road to fat and ill health...Think about what you would and should eat naturally, like whole grains and fresh vegetables and avoid the prepared dinners and white breads.

Many weight loss dreams evaporate because of the lack of a plan. So make a realistic plan with goals, and make sure it isn't too optimistic and that your goals and the method of getting there are in small do-able steps. To find a good plan with everything you need including support you should check out my weight loss program reviews

Not getting up from the table even when you are full is a sure way to consume more calories than you need. How often have you had just one more or thought that it would be rude not to completely clean your plate...don't do it! That feeling that you couldn't eat another bite because you are so full probably means you are over-full.

Don't skip breakfast! It really is the most important meal of the day. Personally, if I don't have breakfast in the morning, I'm doomed...I won't make it through half the morning without feeling weak and famished and then pigging out on donuts or muffins (not good). Many people get in the habit of not having breakfast and then think they don't need it or want it... get over it, you can replace that bad habit with the healthier habit of eating breakfast.

Along with not skipping breakfast, don't starve yourself all day long. If you go all day with little food, when you finally do eat it'll likely be too much of something that is bad...the logic being, if there is any logic, that you have earned it. Well guess where it goes? It gets stored as fat because at the end of the day you will likely be going to bed and not burning it. Eating big at the end of the day is a good way to mess up your metabolism.

Get rid of the "Fat" mindset. People who have been large much of their lives tend to think of themselves as a fat person, whether they have a genetic predisposition or not. You can be whatever you want if you make up your mind. So focus on another positive trait about yourself and make the necessary changes. Start to live as a healthy person does and soon you too will be healthier.

Thinking that pills or the latest fat loss device on an informercial is gonna do it for you painlessly. If those things worked, then nobody would be overweight.

Failing to schedule exercise as a priority item in your schedule is fatal to weight loss program. It is always just too easy to be too busy to exercise. Exercise seems always to be the first thing that is eliminated when you are busy, then it becomes tough to get back into it. Think about how good it feels to have done your workout, not that it is a chore.

Weight loss should not be a one-time or annual ritual (ordeal) but rather should be a matter of changing your lifestyle slightly to allow better health and permanent weight loss.

People become overweight through lifelong poor habits and sometimes, habits can be hard to break. But my suggestion is to adopt a few small changes at a time so that they become habits in place of what you did before.

Then you make another change or two until those now behaviours become habits...etc...etc. Do this over the course of weeks and months to give yourself enough time to really change so that they really become your new habits.

Next thing you know, you have lost the fat that was bothering you and become stronger and healthier. Life is alot more enjoyable when you are healthy and proud of the way you look.

Here are a few more weight loss mistakes to avoid (habits to change).

The first is as I said above, is not thinking that dieting sprees are the answer to health and permanent weight loss. MAKE SOME CHANGES IN HABITS!

Avoid fast foods like the plague! Greasy, high fat, high calorie foods are the bane of todays society and the reason many people, kids included are becoming fatter and fatter. The fast food outlets are starting to offer healthier choices like salads and wraps instead of fries and cholesterol-burgers and soda, so take advantage and be conscious of what you are doing. Try super-sizing the salad rather than the fries and soda.

Don't wait...do it today or set a date (soon) to start your new life and change the first few habits.

till next time,Cindy

April 17, 2006 07:07 - Bathing suit weather!

Summer is fast approaching and the idea of putting on a bathing suit may be very scary. What has the winter done?...What will you look like in more revealing summer clothes?

Many people sit around and don't do much in the winter, waiting until spring to realize that maybe a fitness and fat control plan throughout the year would have been a good idea.

It's not too late to get to work and get back that body you were proud of...or find a new, slim one under the stuff you aren't so proud of.

You have to remember though that there are no quick fixes. You can safely lose up to 2 pounds of fat per week without losing muscle. In 18 weeks, you can lose approximately 18-27 pounds of pure body fat. This alone will get you moving into spring and set you up for a marvelous summer.

The formula for losing fat is still the same...healthy nutrition in healthy servings, weight training to strengthen muscle and fire up the metabolism and cardio to burn even more calories.

For those who are ready to start burning loads of body fat, youve come to the right place

Here's a workout to stimulate all your major muscle groups and to burn a lot of calories. Its great for someone who is pressed for time and/or who has limited equipment. I have not provided direct work for some muscles such as biceps, triceps, calves and abs. However, these smaller muscles will be stimulated with the exercises Ive provided.

A1. Dumbbell Squats

Starting Position:

Stand up straight with feet shoulder-width apart.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with arms hanging down at your sides and palms facing one another.

Maintain a neutral spine and a slight bend in the knees throughout the exercise.

Movement:

Lower your body by bending from your hips and knees stopping when your thighs are parallel with the floor.

Contracting the quadriceps muscles, slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

Exhale while returning to the starting position and inhale while lowering your body.

Do not let your knees ride over your toes (you should be able to see your feet at all times).

It helps to find a marker on the wall to keep your eye on as you lift and lower, otherwise your head may tend to fall forward and your body will follow.

Think about sitting back in a chair as you are lowering down.

Push off with your heels as you return to the starting position.

You may want to try this exercise without weights until you master the movement. Its a very effective exercise that involves most of the muscle groups of the lower body, but if done improperly can lead to injuries.

April 18, 2006 07:18 - Heres a workout to get ready for bathing suit season

I started this workout in yesterdays post, the rest of it is below. I am concentrating on the major muscle groups with compound exercises to maximize the fat burning effect. Combine this with a balanced and healthy diet and weight loss will follow.

Don't overdo it though, if you can't do the recommended number of reps in a session, do what you can but get through them all. Then wait 2 days to do it again. The rest will allow your muscles to recover from the exercise. On the days in between workouts, go for a long walk or use your rebounder for 20 minutes or do 20 minutes of cardio (running, elliptical, aerobics etc.) to keep the fat burning.

Dumbbell Reverse Lat Row

Starting Position:

Sit on a bench with your feet close together.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms hanging down at your sides and palms facing one another.

Bend your upper body so it is parallel with the floor.

Movement:

Contracting the mid to lower back muscles, draw both arms toward your body and turn your wrists so that your palms are facing the ceiling. Keep your elbows tight against the body and stop when your arms are at chest level.

Slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

Exhale while lifting the weight.

Inhale while returning to the starting position Perform 15 repetitions and immediately go to the next exercise.

The Lunge

Starting Position:

Stand straight with your feet together.

Hold a dumbbell or cans in each hand with your arms down at your sides.

Movement:

Step forward with the right leg and lower the left leg until the knee almost touches the floor.

Contracting the quadriceps muscles, push off your right foot slowly returning to the starting position.

Alternate the motion with the left leg to complete the set.

Key Points:

Inhale while stepping forward.

Exhale while returning to the starting position.

The step should be big enough that your left leg is nearly straight. Do not let your knee touch the floor.

Make sure your head is up and your back is straight.

Your chest should be lifted and your front leg should form a 90-degree angle at the bottom of the movement.

Your right knee should not pass your right foot. You should be able to see your toes at all times.

If you have one leg that is more dominant than the other, start out with the less dominant leg first.

Discontinue this exercise if you feel any discomfort in your knees.

Perform 12 repetitions for each leg and immediately go to the next exercise.

Dumbbell Chest Press

Starting Position:

Lie on a flat bench with your spine in a neutral position.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand at chest level with your upper arm parallel to the floor and your elbows facing outward.

Movement:

Contracting the chest muscles, press both arms upward above the chest until the arms are almost fully extended with a slight bend in the elbows.

Slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

Exhale while lifting the weights.

Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Perform 12 repetitions.

After completing the Chest Press, Wait 30 seconds and repeat A1-A4 three additional times (remember to wait 30 seconds after A4 before repeating the sequence). The entire process will take approximately 25 minutes. If you havent worked out in a very long time or are a beginner, perform A1-A4 a total of two cycles (2 sets).

After completing the above, go to the cardiovascular phase below.

Cardiovascular Exercise

You can perform any type of cardiovascular exercise such as power walking on the treadmill, the stationary bike, elliptical trainer etc. However, use a heart rate monitor and after a 5 minute warm-up, gradually increase your target heart rate to 70 percent to 75 percent and maintain it for 20 minutes. Then, cool down for 5 minutes.

Perform the above routine (weights and cardio) three alternate days per week. If youre feeling energized, add the cardio component one additional day without the weight-training exercises.

Prepare for some serious perspiration and ultimately a slimmer body -- just in time for bikini season.

As always, please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

till next time,Cindy

April 24, 2006 07:37 - Is your butt too big?

As a personal trainer, I hate to see anyone feeling bad about their body. It's surprising sometimes how long and far someone can go without seeming to notice that their body has gone over the hill and is now working against them. Not just in the way your clothes fit (or don't) or the fact that you must always buy larger clothes to accomodate the extra. It often takes some bad news from a doctor as a wake-up call and a call to action. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attack? However, thats what it sometimes takes for people to make changes.

Don't wait that long!

Don't wait until your health is in crisis before making some positive changes.

The first place that excess weight shows up for many people is in their butt and this is exactly where others see it too. What size was the last pair of jeans you bought? Do you have to turn sideways to get through the door? Don't you notice when someone else has a big butt?

Many people, rather than try to lose body fat or work-out buy clothes to try to hide the problem. I've seen some women who look like they are wearing something from the tent-making shop...does an elephant look smaller underneath a tarp?

Genetic differences mean that there are a large variety of butt shapes and sizes. The perfect butt for you will happen when you get down to a healthy weight and healthy BMI (Body Mass Index = ratio of lean mass to fat mass)Strive for a lean and healthy body and youll achieve your perfect butt.

The formula is the same as always. In order to lose fat, you must adopt a nutritious, calorie reduced diet and an exercise program including both cardio and resistance training...and you must be consistent.

You cannot spot-reduce the fat that encases your butt. Your glutes wont get tighter and smaller unless your overall body fat is reduced. You can certainly focus on exercise that will increase the muscle mass of your glutes and that will help with the final shape and firmness of your butt, but who's gonna know if you can't see it through the layer of fat.

Youll need to perform cardiovascular exercise 3-5 days per week for 30-40 minutes and strength train 2-3 days per week with challenging whole body workouts.

The exercise routine I'm going to set out for you is designed to give you the great butt you have always desired and to work the legs as well.

I give you the routine tomorrow...

Till then,Cindy

April 25, 2006 07:03 - Best Exercise For Your Butt

Keep up with your regular workout each week but on two alternate days do the following workout and I guarantee you'll see results within a few weeks.

These exercises are focused on specific muscles and will efficiently blast them, so be prepared for a little soreness in the area of the legs and butt. It has to be this way to work in a short time.

You'll be burning more calories and working on building muscle fiber that will burn calories even when at rest. There are only 4 exercises in this routine, but you never stop moving. Perform the recommended reps for each movement and keep moving from exercise to exercise.

1. Dumbbell Lunges

Starting Position:

Stand straight with your feet together.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms down at your sides

Movement:

Step forward with the right leg and lower the left leg until the knee almost touches the floor.

Contracting the quadriceps muscles, push off your right foot slowly returning to the starting position.

Alternate the motion with the left leg to complete the set.

Key Points:

Inhale while stepping forward.

Exhale while returning to the starting position.

The step should be big enough that your left leg is nearly straight. Do not let your knee touch the floor.

Make sure your head is up and your back is straight.

Your chest should be lifted and your front leg should form a 90 degree angle at the bottom of the movement.

Your right knee should not pass your right foot. You should be able to see your toes at all times.

If you have one leg that is more dominant than the other, start out with the less dominant leg first.

Discontinue this exercise if you feel any discomfort in your knees

Perform 15 repetitions on each leg. Do one leg first and then switch sides. Then immediately go to the next exercise.

2. Barbell or Broom Stick Rear Squat

Starting Position:

Place the barbell or broom stick across the back of your shoulders. Be sure it is not resting on your neck.

Place feet flat on the floor, shoulder distance apart

Movement:

Concentrating on the butt, lower your body by bending from your hips and knees stopping when your thighs are parallel with the floor.

Slowly return to the starting position

Key Points:

Inhale as you lower your body.

Exhale while returning to the starting position.

Do not let your knees ride over your toes (you should be able to see your feet at all times).

It helps to find a marker on the wall to keep your eye on as you lift and lower, otherwise your head may tend to fall forward and your body will follow.

Think about sitting back in a chair as you are lowering down.

Push off with your heels as you return to the starting position.

You may want to try this exercise without weights until you master the movement. It is a very effective exercise that involves most of the muscle groups of the lower body, but if done improperly can lead to injuries.

Perform 20 repetitions and immediately go to the next exercise.

3. Lying Gluteus Lift

Starting Position:

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the floor.

Place your arms at your sides for support

Movement:

Contracting the glutes, project your hips up toward the ceiling as you lift your glutes off the floor.

Slowly return to the starting position stopping just short of your buttocks touching the floor

Key Points:

Exhale while lifting your glutes.

Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Perform 20 very tight contractions and go directly to the treadmill exercise which follows.

Beginners should perform one cycle (all 4 exercises), intermediates 2 cycles and advanced exercisers 3 total cycles. Wait 60 seconds after each cycle before starting again. For the advanced group, please be prepared for a very challenging workout. Once an advanced level is reached, this workout will take 30 minutes to complete.

Note: After 2 weeks, beginners may attempt the intermediate workout and intermediates may attempt the advanced workout.

Perform this routine for 6 consecutive weeks on 2 alternate days of the week, try an eDiets nutrition program and continue your standard workout (weights and cardio) and be prepared to see some big changes in the appearance of your butt.

Note: As always, please check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

April 26, 2006 08:10 - Got Flabby Arms?

When you hold your arm out in front of you as if to point at something, then shake it, does it wobble around like jello and does it look like your bicep, which is supposed to be on the top of your arm, sagged to the bottom?

Well, if you have bat-wings it is simply because you are carrying too much body fat.

Tight, smooth arms with a bit of muscle definition are a sexy thing.

I want to pass on a few tips and a workout that will give you those sexy arms.

As always, you have to perform cardio and strength training to make changes because these are the most efficient methods to improve muscles and burn body fat.

The simple program I will outline here is guaranteed to bring you great results, and guys, it'll work for you too, and a little testosterone in the mix will bring larger results than with the ladies

Heres my exercise workout for great arms...

Working Antagonist Muscles:This principle refers to working opposing muscle groups in the same workout.

For example, your biceps pull your forearm toward your shoulder but the antagonist muscles (triceps) straighten your arm away from the shoulder. You will find great success performing a biceps exercise immediately followed by a triceps exercise (also called a super set). You then take a brief rest and repeat the cycle. This not only increases blood flow into the entire arm, but also challenges the cardiovascular system to some degree.

Antagonist super sets (no rest between bicep and tricep moves) allows you to use more weight because the opposing muscle group gets a bit of a rest as you work the other muscle. This is a super workout for the arms, and you will quickly feel why.

Take a 45-second to 60-second rest between super sets when performing antagonist training. After performing the biceps and triceps exercise, one would wait no more then 45 to 60 seconds and then repeat the cycle. People tend to wait a lot longer then they realize or they repeat a set too soon. There has to be some time allotted for recovery, but not so much that you begin to get stale. This allows you to do more work in less time and pumps blood into the arm.

You have to Lower Body FatWhile the exercises I describe will greatly increase your strength and muscle mass, you wont get great-looking arms if they are still covered with fat. You have to slightly lower your calorie intake below the amount you are burning and you will have to add cardio exercise to burn even more fat. Then youll see your arms develop the way you want them to. The muscles will develop slightly from your workouts and your reduced body fat will then display sleek muscles.

More in my next post,Cindy

April 27, 2006 07:42 - The Cure for Flabby Arms

Please read yesterdays post for the preamble to this workout for flabby arm (wings).

For four weeks, add the following program to your upper body weight training sessions. Place it first in the work out and then follow with all of your other muscle groups (chest, back and shoulders). Yes, your arms will be fatigued when performing the other exercises, but this allows you to prioritize the arms. The muscles that you work at the beginning of a workout are the freshest and usually respond the quickest to changes.

The Workout

Fitball Supine Triceps Extension

Starting Position:

Hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Sit on the ball and walk your feet out until your head, neck and shoulders are supported on the ball with the knees at a 90-degree angle.

Raise your hips in line with the knees and shoulders like a tabletop. Maintain the tabletop position throughout the exercise.

Holding the dumbbells, extend your arms toward the ceiling with a slight bend in the elbows.

Movement:

Slowly lower the dumbbells toward the shoulders by bending the elbows stopping just short of the dumbbells touching the shoulders.

Contracting the triceps muscles, slowly return to the starting position stopping just short of the arms being fully extended with a slight bend in the elbows.

Key Points:

Inhale while lifting the weights.

Exhale while returning to the starting position.

The upper arms should remain stationary throughout the exercise.

Barbell Double Biceps Curl (stand with your back against a wall for better isolation of the biceps)

Starting Position:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with a slight bend in the knees.

Hold the barbell with both hands shoulder width apart, a slight bend in the elbows and palms facing away from your body. The barbell should be resting lightly on your thighs.

Keep your shoulder blades contracted throughout the range of motion.

Movement

Contracting the biceps muscles, raise the barbell toward the shoulders keeping the upper arm stationary and elbows close to the body stopping just short of the barbell touching your shoulders.

Slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

Exhale as you raise the weight.

Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Instruction: Perform A1 for 10 reps and immediately go to A2 and perform 12 reps (superset). Wait 45 seconds and perform the superset two additional times for a total of three supersets.

The Triceps Extension

Starting Position:

Stand with a dumbbell in your right hand and your left hand on your hip.

Press the weight over your head until your right arm is almost straight with a slight bend in the elbow at the top position.

Contracting the triceps muscles, slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

Exhale while returning to the starting position.

Inhale while lowering the weight.

After completing the set on the right side, repeat on the left side.

This exercise is not to be performed with large dumbbells. The technique is more important than the weight.

You can also perform this exercise while seated on a bench

The Biceps Curl

Starting Position:

Sit on a bench or chair with both feet in front of your body and your back straight.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your arms at each side and palms facing forward.

Movement:

Contracting the biceps muscles, raise the weights toward your shoulders stopping just short of the weights touching the shoulders.

Slowly return to the starting position.

Key Points:

Exhale while lifting the weights.

Inhale while returning to the starting position.

Your upper arms should remain stationary throughout the exercise.

Instruction:Do the tricep extensions for 12 reps and immediately go to the bicep curls and perform 12 reps (superset). Wait 45 seconds and perform the superset two additional times for a total of three supersets. Perform the exercise workout on three alternate days of the week. Beginners should perform only one superset of each cycle.

Believe me, this exercise program isn't easy -- but it will produce results when combined with your nutrition program. Time to get to work.

You should check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.